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Staycation As A Lifestyle - Katja Presnal
Staycation As A Lifestyle - Katja PresnalMONDAY, JULY 13, 2009
Long before I even knew what the term staycation meant, I was already living the permanent staycation lifestyle. Even if it was just stopping and enjoying the perfect cup of latte in a local coffee shop. I have lived in three countries and seven states in the United States, and traveled quite a bit. You will most likely not see me in the tourist bus doing a seven-day-tour of Central Europe, nor standing in the line at Six Flags. But I can discuss about the Lufthansa flights between the United States and Germany and I've spent enough time at NYC and Chicago airports to guide you to the closest Starbucks, and I am as comfortable riding a horse into the Texan sunset as admiring Kandinsky's work in a modern art museum. I haven't always been a world traveler. In fact I was born in a small town of Southern Finland, and while we did several family trips to Central Europe when I was growing up, most of the childhood summers I spent on a boat, enjoying the sea, eating freshly caught salmon and falling asleep in the cabin of the boat, water rocking it and sun shining though the boat windows during the nightless Northern summer nights. Maybe it was all those lazy summers that left me with the love of the sea, but also the desire to sail around the world to see more. It wasn't until I was 22 years old that I moved out of Finland, and decided to spend a year in Germany. That was 12 years ago, and the year actually ended up being only a few months in Germany, but got me started with permanent staycation lifestyle of moving around the world. I met the love of my life, who is now my husband, and who shares my passion for adventure. We have our own United Nations now - our three children, who were born in different countries as World Citizens. Three years ago my fourth "child" was born, my company Skimbaco. For the lack of the word to describe our permanent staycation lifestyle of moving around and enjoying the surroundings where we were and living life to the fullest, I made up a word SKIMBACO from Finnish slang word for skiing and from the short for Colorado, since at that moment the staycation for us meant skiing in Colorado. Today? It's museum hopping & shopping in New York - next it probably be wine tasting in France. Skimbaco simply describes the carpe diem-attitude I have for life - to live in the moment and to live life to the fullest. People often ask me what has been my favorite place to live or visit so far, and each time I either have a different answer depending what mood I am, or I just answer "there is no best place" or "I haven't been there yet". That simply means that since I equally love the wine valleys of the Rhein river in Germany, sailing in the archipelago of Turku in Finland, skiing at the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and there is not quite other place to smell the apples on the fall time than upstate New York, there really is something great about every single place I have visited or lived in. And that, if something, is the beauty of permanent staycation for me - finding those "great things" around you, enjoying every day of your life. This summer, take a day off your busy schedule and live Skimbaco way. Find a new local restaurant you have never eaten in, go and play mini-golf just for fun, visit the museum you drive by every day but have never visited, or go outside and jump in the water puddles when it's pouring rain. Or just color your nails with a crazy new color. Do something that you thought you wouldn't do in million years, and forget about the reason why you thought you wouldn't do it and just have fun. I would love to hear how you live life to the fullest and the Skimbaco lifestyle! Me? I just bought a pair of pink Barbie roller skates for me, because... well, why not? And for every valid web comment on this blog only we will give you a Free $5 e.l.f. coupon via email just to say thanks (1 per person, to the first 100 posts only).
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